The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
An anti-tamper (AT) system aims at providing protection against reverse engineering or altering the function of electronic hardware such as computer processors, integrated circuits (IC), and multi-chip modules. The AT system can be categorized as either a passive or an active AT system. For example, a passive AT system includes conformal coatings and/or arranging mesh wires over critical portions of integrated circuits so that the critical portions are not visible without removing the coatings and/or mesh wires. In a passive AT system using mesh wires, no electric signal is transmitted through the mesh wires. On the other hand, an active AT system takes protective actions when unauthorized activities are detected. In an active AT system including mesh wires, electric signals may be transmitted through the mesh wires for detecting unauthorized activities that trigger protective actions.